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Andrew Mitchell

Andrew Mitchell is a freelance journalist who has also worked as a staff writer at The Mainichi Daily News in Tokyo. His interviews/reviews include Steve Vai, Bare Naked Ladies, and Grand Champion Sumo wrestler Akebono.

Ten Feet High On a Billboard

The unthinkable happened one night not too long ago. No, I didn't get laid, but what I did experience on that drab, drunken Tokyo evening was close to orgasmic: I heard The Gladys for the first time. I still remember it like it was Sept. 5, 1998. I was in this subterranean watering hole whiling away the hours before sleep. No amount of drink could have helped the first two bands that I witnessed that night, and by the time the The Gladys hit the stage, I was already mentally on my way home. In fact, I had hoped to have finished my beer and been out of there before they even started.

As it turned out, though, I was experiencing trouble with my hand-eye coordination at that pint and before I was able to get my glass from my ear to my mouth to finish off the last dregs, up stepped Mark, Brian, Dave and Dave. One song into their set and they'd already put the preceding acts to shame. Two songs in and they had my undivided attention. By the third song, Scuba Diving in Hawaii, not only had I ordered another pint, but I had a grin of appreciation, nay, serendipitous astonishment etched on my face that only faded the next morning upon waking to an incredible hangover. That turned out to be one of the most memorable live performances I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing, even topping the likes of David Lee Roth in '87 and the Village People in '77.

And now that I've lost any respect you may have had for me as a music critic... I remember being blown away by The Gladys on a number of levels, the most immediate being the quality of their songs. The sound was both familiar and unexpected, like farting and following through. My initial reaction was to try and pinpoint their sound. I started with Oasis, then moved through the Clash, the Dead Kennedys and the Beatles. I was wrong on all accounts, although bits of each group can be heard in The Gladys' repertoire. You could spend all day linking other bands to The Gladys' sound (throw in the Happy Mondays, The Who and Iggy Pop for good measure, too) but in the end you'll come to the same conclusion I did: The Gladys is all that and more. (continue)